Johnson appeals for understanding

UK PM speaks of frustration that full lockdown can't yet be lifted

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has admitted to being "frustrated" at not being able to start taking the country out of its coronavirus lockdown yet.

Figures released on Sunday showed that the United Kingdom had suffered 34,636 deaths in the outbreak. The country remains on the second-highest level of alert, and the lockdown measures announced on March 23 largely remain in force, although the simple message of "Stay Home－Save Lives" was recently toned down, to widespread confusion.

This week there has been talk of schools gradually starting to reopen next month, although the suggestion has proved controversial.

"I understand people will feel frustrated with some of the new rules," Johnson wrote in the Mail on Sunday. "We are trying to do something that has never had to be done before－moving the country out of a full lockdown, in a way which is safe and does not risk sacrificing all of your hard work.

"I recognize what we are now asking is more complex than simply staying at home, but this is a complex problem."

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has continued to emphasize the original message, causing a rift between Edinburgh and London and now within England, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has warned Johnson about a potential "fracturing of national unity" over the issue. He aired concerns over the increasing risk of a second spike in cases.

"On the eve of a new working week, the PM was on TV 'actively encouraging' a return to work," Burnham wrote in the Observer.

"Even though that would clearly put more cars on roads and people on trams, no one in government thought it important to tell the cities that would have to cope with that.

"The surprisingly permissive package might well be right for the South East (of England) given the fall in cases there. But my gut feeling told me it was too soon for the north."

Across Europe, the novel coronavirus had infected 1,686,445 people and claimed 161,420 lives as of Sunday, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

Gradual reopening

In Italy, shops, restaurants, bars, barber shops, beauty salons, museums, and beachfront operators were allowed to reopen from Monday as long as they respect rules for social distancing and disinfecting facilities. Italians will also be allowed to move within the region they live in.

But schools will remain closed. The current plan is for them to reopen only in September.

The country recorded its lowest levels of new infections and deaths on Sunday since early March－before the lockdown was put into place. Italy on Sunday reported 675 new cases and 145 deaths in the latest 24 hour period. As of Sunday, Italy had 225,435 infections and 31,908 deaths, according to the Civil Protection Department.

The Russian anti-coronavirus crisis center reported 8,926 new cases on Monday morning－the first time that it has reported fewer than 9,000 new cases since May 1.The total number reached 290,678 on Monday, with 2,722 deaths.

The chief of Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing, Anna Popova, said infection rates had stabilized across Russia as indicated by a slowing trend in the daily reports of news cases.

Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova dismissed a report by the Financial Times that Russia deliberately underreported the number of coronavirus deaths. She said on Sunday that the reported number of coronavirus cases in Russia is accurate, and that doctors are not trying to conceal data.

Chen Yingqun in Beijing, Xinhua and agencies contributed to this story.